At precisely 6:40 on a Sunday evening, Wasim Akram leaned into a cover drive against Ian Salisbury, sending the ball racing to the boundary and sealing one of the most pulsating victories in Pakistan’s Test history. That stroke was more than just the winning shot—it was the exclamation mark on a day of cricket that had swung like a pendulum, veering from certainty to chaos, before settling in Pakistan’s favour most dramatically.
The atmosphere at Lord’s was electric, charged with the kind
of intensity that only Test cricket can produce. Seventeen wickets had fallen
in the day, and the contest had played out with the breathless urgency of a
one-day final. For Pakistan, the day had promised an inevitable triumph, only
to threaten an implosion, before their two great fast-bowling titans—Wasim and
Waqar—transcended their usual roles and held firm with the bat, scripting a
partnership that defied England’s desperate but depleted attack. Their
resilience crushed the hopes of an English side that, for a fleeting moment,
had glimpsed the unlikeliest of victories.
This match was not merely a contest of skill but a trial of
nerve, a battle waged as much in the mind as with bat and ball. The Test and
County Cricket Board (TCCB) had been spared an administrative controversy that
could have marred the occasion—had Salisbury bowled a maiden over, play would
have been halted for the day, resuming Monday morning with England needing two
wickets and Pakistan requiring a solitary run. A resolution by technicality
would have been an injustice to the feverish struggle of the preceding hours.
Fate, however, ensured that the game reached its rightful conclusion then and
there, preserving the sanctity of what had been an unforgettable day’s
play.
The Resurrection of
Wasim and Waqar
Perhaps the most poetic aspect of Pakistan’s triumph was the
resurgence of Wasim and Waqar. Only weeks earlier, doubts had clouded their
fitness—Wasim had missed the first Test due to shin trouble, while Waqar’s
return at Edgbaston had seemed tentative after a stress fracture had sidelined
him for the World Cup. Yet, in this match, the duo roared back to form, slicing
through England’s batting with 13 wickets between them before standing resolute
with the bat when all seemed lost.
Wasim’s return had been signalled with a ferocious display in county matches before the Test, where he claimed 16 wickets against Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire. His recall, at the expense of Ata-ur-Rehman, proved to be the masterstroke that shaped the outcome. England, by contrast, made only one change, bringing in Devon Malcolm for Mark Ramprakash—an adjustment that did little to inject the variety their attack sorely lacked.
England’s Early
Command and Swift Decline
The Test began with England asserting control. Graham Gooch,
in vintage form, combined with Alec Stewart to put on 123 for the first wicket
at an exhilarating tempo. Overcast skies and a swinging ball failed to trouble
the English openers—until Wasim Akram intervened. Gooch, having surpassed Wally
Hammond’s Test aggregate of 7,249 runs, fell when an inside edge cannoned onto
his stumps. This dismissal marked the turning point, and the English innings
quickly unravelled.
Graeme Hick’s ambitious pull to mid-on signalled a lack of
discipline, and soon the wickets tumbled. Waqar, sensing weakness, produced a
spell of devastating ferocity, claiming four wickets for 17 runs in just 40
deliveries. England’s recklessness played into his hands, their batsmen gifting
away their wickets with a mixture of impatience and poor shot selection. Only
wicketkeeper Jack Russell offered meaningful resistance, but by then, the
damage had been done.
The Tumult of
Pakistan’s First Innings
Pakistan’s response was shaped by interruptions, as Friday’s
afternoon sessions were washed out by rain. Ian Botham, plagued by a groin
strain, bowled sparingly but still managed to impact the game. A tumbling slip
catch removed Javed Miandad, giving leg-spinner Ian Salisbury his maiden Test
wicket. Botham then pulled off another stunning grab to dismiss Moin Khan,
equaling M.C. Cowdrey’s England record of 120 Test catches.
Yet, the real drama came with the ball in Devon Malcolm’s
hands. Pakistan were cruising at 228 for three when Malcolm produced a fiery
burst, removing Asif Mujtaba, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Salim Malik in a span of 13
balls. England had fought back, restricting Pakistan’s lead to a modest
38.
Stewart’s Lone Stand
and England’s Final Collapse
England’s second innings was an exercise in
self-destruction. While night-watchman Salisbury provided stubborn resistance,
Mushtaq Ahmed dismantled the middle order, claiming three crucial wickets in
quick succession. Once again, Wasim Akram provided the finishing touch, mopping
up the tail in clinical fashion. The one exception to England’s failings was
Alec Stewart, who stood defiant and became only the sixth English batsman to
carry his bat through a Test innings—the first to do so at Lord’s. It was an
innings of remarkable maturity, reinforcing his growing stature as England’s
backbone.
The Climax: A Battle
of Attrition
And then came the final act—a chase of 138 that should have
been routine but instead unravelled into a nerve-wracking thriller. Pakistan
stumbled immediately, collapsing to 18 for three as Chris Lewis extracted edges
from Ramiz Raja, Mujtaba, and Miandad, all dismissed for ducks. When Salisbury
removed Malik with his fifth delivery, England smelled an improbable
victory.
But fate had other ideas. Injuries hamstrung England’s
attack—Botham, already struggling, was further hindered by a toe injury; Philip
DeFreitas pulled his groin and could not bowl. Gooch, watching his side’s
advantage slip, had no fresh weapons to summon.
Salisbury fought valiantly, claiming crucial wickets and a
combination of his leg-spin and tight seam bowling reduced Pakistan to 95 for
eight. England were on the brink. But the two men who had tormented them with
the ball now took centre stage with the bat. Wasim and Waqar, famed for their
destruction, turned saviours.
With every passing run, the tension mounted. The English
crowd, raucous with expectation, grew silent. Lewis, having bowled the spell of
his life earlier in the day, was exhausted. England had thrown every last ounce
of fight into the battle, but they had nothing left to give.
And then, in one elegant stroke, it was over. Wasim’s cover
drive was more than just the winning shot—it was a release of tension, a
proclamation of triumph. The Pakistan team, unable to contain themselves,
stormed onto the field in unbridled jubilation.
Aftermath: A Test
That Defined the Era
For England, the heartbreak was compounded by a financial
penalty—their slow over rate resulted in fines, though referee Bob Cowper
showed leniency. The corporate world, too, took note. Cornhill Insurance
extended their sponsorship of English cricket, paying £3.2 million for 1993 and
1994. Yet no amount of sponsorship money could buy a spectacle as rich and
dramatic as what had unfolded that Sunday at Lord’s.
Rarely does a single day of cricket encapsulate the magic, agony, and relentless unpredictability of the sport. This was not just a Test match; it was a battle etched into cricketing folklore, a testament to the unyielding spirit of competition, where heroes emerged, odds defied, and the weight of history pressed down on every ball. And at the heart of it all, Wasim and Waqar stood, their legacies forever entwined with the echoes of that unforgettable evening at Lord’s.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
